Oliver Taylor Hawkins (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters. Prior to joining the band in 1997, he was the touring drummer for Alanis Morissette on her Jagged Little Pill and Can't Not Tour, as well as the drummer in a progressive experimental band called Sylvia. His cousin, Kevin Harrell, introduced him to Dave Grohl after camping with him for several weeks in the Ozarks. Hawkins would eventually become the drummer for Grohl's band, Foo Fighters. He was voted "Best Rock Drummer" in 2005 by the UK drumming magazine Rhythm.

Oliver Taylor Hawkins was born in Fort Worth, Texas on February 17, 1972. His family moved to Laguna Beach, California in 1976, where Hawkins grew up. Hawkins has a brother, Jason, and a sister, Heather. The family had two cats 'Little A' and 'Floyd'. He attended Thurston Jr. High School and later went to Laguna Beach High School. After leaving the Orange County-based band Sylvia (later emerging as ANYONE), he joined up as the drummer for Sass Jordan, which in turn he left to act as the drummer for Alanis Morissette. He has appeared in Morissette's videos for "You Oughta Know" and "You Learn."

After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered a Seattle studio with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. Conflict reportedly erupted between Dave Grohl and the current drummer, William Goldsmith, eventually causing Goldsmith to leave the band.[1] The band regrouped in Los Angeles and almost completely re-recorded the album with Grohl on drums. The album, The Colour and the Shape, was released on May 20, 1997. Grohl called up Hawkins to recommend a new drummer, and to Grohl's surprise, Hawkins volunteered himself. He then auditioned for and subsequently joined the band, making his debut in time for the album's release.

In addition to his drumming duties with the Foo Fighters, Hawkins is also an accomplished rock singer, guitarist and pianist. His first lead vocal with the group was a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar". Two versions of the song were released, one as the b-side to "Learn to Fly" and another on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack album. He sang lead vocals on the original "Cold Day in the Sun," from In Your Honor, which was later released as a single, and the cover of Cream's "I Feel Free," which appeared as the b-side of "DOA" and on the EP Five Songs and a Cover. Hawkins also sang lead vocals for the band's cover of Joe Walsh's "Life of Illusion."

Hawkins was commissioned to complete an unfinished recording of a song by Beach Boys' drummer Dennis Wilson titled "Holy Man" by writing and singing new lyrics. The recording was released in June 2008 as part of a deluxe edition of Wilson's lone 1977 solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue.

In March 2014, Taylor announced his new side project called The Birds of Satan. It features Hawkins' drum technician and bandmate from Chevy Metal, Wiley Hodgden on bass guitar and vocals as well as guitarist Mick Murphy also of Chevy Metal. The band's self-titled debut album was released in April 2014, with a release party at 'Rock n Roll Pizza' featuring the Foo Fighters guesting on some of the cover tracks.[3]

"My earliest Queen memory is of the movie King Kong. I went to see that movie when I was six years old and a typical '70s kid. On the drive home with my parents, I heard 'We Will Rock You' on the car radio. Somehow in my mind there was now a correlation between King Kong and the sound of Roger Taylor's drums. Somehow they fitted so well with the image of this monster stomping through the city that I couldn't separate the two."[citation needed]

Hawkins struggled with addiction throughout the mid- to late-1990s, culminating with an overdose on heroin in 2001 while on tour with Foo Fighters in London. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl sat beside Hawkins' hospital bed until he woke up.

Hawkins and his wife, Alison, have a son named Oliver Shane (he is called Shane). They also have a daughter named Annabelle, born in the winter of 2009. During a radio interview in 2014, Hawkins announced that he and wife Alison were expecting a third child.

They currently reside in Hidden Hills, California after moving from Topanga Canyon in 2012. Hawkins is also very athletic and loves to go mountain biking. He usually bikes with fellow Foo Fighters bandmate Nate Mendel.